


when life gives you rainy days, make a friend

by dancibayo



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-25
Updated: 2020-12-25
Packaged: 2021-03-11 03:13:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,051
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28318035
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/dancibayo/pseuds/dancibayo
Summary: Tony meets Stephen on a rainy day
Relationships: Tony Stark/Stephen Strange
Comments: 14
Kudos: 47
Collections: IronStrange Gift Exchange 2020





	when life gives you rainy days, make a friend

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Chocopiggy](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Chocopiggy/gifts).



> Gift Exchange for @Chocopiggy! Hope you enjoy it!

Anthony Edward Stark--fondly known as Tony by exactly one person--liked to think he was the smartest guy around. He was sixteen and had been attending MIT for a bit over a year now. The only other person he knew that had graduated high school early was his best friend, Rhodey. In his mind, that meant that everyone else was dumber than him. (It didn't help that this was actually true, and caused the neglected teen to feel more than justified in having such a large ego.) 

Several weeks ago, with little to no trouble, he’d finished his coursework for the current semester. He was unable to contain his boredom any longer and following the subsequent smallish explosion that resulted in the process of alleviating said boredom, had been kicked from his shared dorm room by Rhodey Bear. Because it was heavily raining in the middle of the afternoon, the young genius decided to visit the university library. 

He had been there for about an hour, mindlessly wandering the enormous building when he spotted someone who was close to his age, if not younger. The other teen was sitting at a semi-secluded table that was up against a window a few feet from the rows of shelves. The table was covered with two-foot-tall neatly stacked piles of books, obscuring what little light was available from outside. To compensate, there was a small desk lamp situated in front of the boy. It's soft yellow glow created a halo of light around the crown of his head where he was bent over a thick book. He wasn't taking notes as he read, only pausing occasionally to drink something from a thermos.

Tony waltzed over to a nearby desk. It happened to have a card catalog on it and he started to slowly flip through it even though he was actually staring at the other teen instead of looking up a book. After standing there staring for what seemed like an eternity (but was probably closer to five minutes), the young genius gathered his courage and sauntered over to the other boy. He picked up the thermos that was sitting on the chair next to the other boy and plopped down next to the other teen. The boy's body tensed for a moment before he continued to read without acknowledging Tony. Tony could now see the titles on the spines, it looked like the other teen was methodically making his way through the entire Medical section. 

After a few minutes of page-turning, Tony decided to break the silence. 

"Hi. I don't know if you know, but I'm Tony Stark. How could you not know though, right? I couldn't help but notice you sitting here, and I don't know who you are, so I thought I'd ask. You look like a smart guy, so I was wondering if we could, um…” Tony stumbles a bit, unused to being unacknowledged for so long, especially when he spoke. “Get to know each other." Now leaning against the table, flashing his best press smile while trying to catch the other's eye. The other boy glances sideways at Tony before sighing dramatically and closing his book. He turns to the side, eyes flitting to the thermos in Tony's lap before holding out his hand. Tony reaches out to enthusiastically shake the other's hand. The boy rolls his eyes.

"Give me my thermos," the boy says, with a slight hint of a southern twang and Tony releases his hand with a pout.

"I will if you tell me your name," Tony says, thinking that would be a fair exchange. The boy's eyes slide slowly closed, and he breathes in deeply before letting out an exhale in a rush. Suddenly his eyes snap open, and he snatches the thermos from Tony.

"My name is Stephen Strange. Now if you don't mind, I have reading to do," the newly dubbed Stephen says, before cracking open his book again. 

Tony sits quietly for a while, before speaking up once again, "What are you doing?" 

"Reading, obviously," Stephen says without even looking up from the page.

"Why are you reading medical books?" Tony asks, leaning a bit closer to Stephen to take a peek at the page, only to see an incomprehensible diagram with even more complex words describing parts of it. He wrinkles his nose.

"So I can become a doctor," Stephen drawls slowly as if speaking to a small child. 

"You're a little young to be a doctor aren't you? How are you even able to remember all of this?" Tony would have to use other books to cross-reference some of what the diagram is showing to understand it. He doesn't feel too bad about his incomprehension, since he's never dipped a toe in medical research. 

"I have a photographic memory," Stephen says as he turns the page. Tony's eyes widen in surprise; an eidetic memory is rare, and a photographic memory has never been proven to exist. Tony has his doubts, but it would explain how someone even younger than him was able to get into MIT. Speaking of…

"I didn't think MIT offered a medical degree," Tony points out. Stephen hummed before responding. 

"They don't. I'm part of the joint MD-PhD program with Harvard," Stephen informs him, apparently cottoning on to the fact that Tony isn't leaving. 

"How old are you again?" Tony asked, picking up a book from a nearby stack and flipping through it, raising it out of reach when Stephen goes to grab it.

"I never said," the younger boy replied, hazel eyes narrowed at Tony who just smiled back at him.

"Oh really. How about we correct that?" Tony asks, pouting playfully. 

"No," Stephen replies, rolling his eyes once more before deciding to let Tony keep the book and go back to reading. 

"I'll find out eventually you know," Tony points out, leaning on the edge of the table. 

Stephen's lips quirk up in a smile as he says, "I know. Doesn't mean I'll make it easier for you."

Tony is surprised once again. This kid is definitely interesting. The genius is overcome with the surety that they will become great friends, (even if he has to stubbornly pester Stephen to make it happen). 

He gets the feeling that they’re both looking forward to it.


End file.
